The Monaghan jig

Whoever thought Monaghan could be such a sinister-sounding place? This is one of those moody, E minor tunes.

As with most multi-part tunes, a lot of the phrases show up in each part. Notice how the end of each part is exactly the same. Once you’ve got that phrase mastered you can throw in some variation by holding the D note longer.

Quite often, this jig is played with just the first three parts, but that last part is the best of all. Unfortunately, it’s also the toughest. Take it nice and slow at first; it’ll pay off in the end.

For me this is a foot stomper. I love playing this tune - it’s been in my repertoire forever and I never get tired of it. I think I first heard it being played as a whistle duet, back in the early 80s, by Phil Smillie and Alan MacLeod of the Tannahill Weavers. Don’t know if they ever recorded it, but I was certainly inspired to go and learn it "properly".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTFg_rx1tUY I like this version

play video

Usually taken to mean ‘evil’, the word ‘wicked’ pretty much describes the Monaghan. Then again, for us New Englanders, ‘Wicked’ also means ‘Cool’, or, it can be an adverb meaning ‘very’. Monaghan is wicked good,even more so if you go heavy on the downbeats up and down the scales. For fiddle, the O’Neil’s version is a workout. If you are going through with the D part (as listed in O’Neil’s), try it as a "last time through" only addition to the ABC parts, tacking it on to close a set. Gliss up to an octave above open E at the end, then pizz the string with your fourth finger. Sounds very sly and, well, wicked good. I can’t advise transitioning back into the A part once you have survived the D… Hard to recover!

Monaghan: drumlin country, think of the ‘stony grey fields’ of Patrick Kavanagh - rushy hollows and wee lakes. Border country, dark secrets - think of Patrick McCabe and The Butcher Boy etc.

Anyway I was learning this off Mary Bergin’s recording. I think she plays the fourth part rather different to version here, more like:
EGB eBG BGE F2F e2G BGE F3~ AFD EGB GBd Beg egb fed ABG FDF AGF
very nice

While playing the `Monaghan jig´ (O´Neill 1001, # 245) in medium tempo yesterday, I found its melody to be very close to the Scottish Jacobite song `Donald Mc Gillivray´ as sung by Ewan McColl on his early 70s (?) recording of `Songs of two rebellions´ . Anybody who knows anything about a possible connection here ?

There may have been a connection but I think it’s unlikely. Donald MacGillvary is in 4/4 for a start. Great song and a great tune though.

There in nothing new in - The scots irish brotherhood..
About swapping tunes etc…..jim,,
X:21
T:The Campbell’s are coming.
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:G
G|B2e dBG|A>BA A2G|B2e dBG|d>BB TB2
A|B2e dBG|A>BA g2a|g>eg dBG|B>cB B2:|
G|g2g gab|d>ed dBG|g2g gab|g>ee e2
d|def gfe|def g>ab|g>eg dBG|B>cB B2:|

X:9
T:Pay The Reckoning
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:jig
K:G
G2e dBG|~B3 dBA|G2e dBG|~A3 BGE|
G2e dBG|~B3 deg|age dBG|~A3 BGE:|
~g3 faf|e/f/ge def|gfg efg|aga bge|
gbg f/g/af|ege deg|age dBG|~A3 BGE:|

Nothing would surprise me about Mr MaColl……having the only extant tune for Eppie Morrie is just the start……yeah, right.

I love the version that Darrach MacMathúna played with Gerard Coughlan….

http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_265_4_gerard_coughlan_and_darrach_macmathuna/

dunno if its different from the version here… but just thought i’d share 🙂

This is one of my favorite tunes, and one of the first ones I learned. I can’t imagine playing it without the first part, which I agree is the best part. I love the first two measures of the D part. I learned the D part as:

EGB eBG|BGE FAF|EGB eBG|F3 AFD| EGB GBe|Beg efg|d3 A2G|FDF AGF|

Sorry, I meant, I can’t imagine playing it without the FOURTH part, not first.

Submitted on March 7th 2010 by jasonlburnfield.
~ /tunes/10330

X: 2
T: Monaghan, The
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: EDor
|: BGE FFE | BGE FGA | BGE BGE | AFD DFA |
BGE FFE | BGE FGA | ded ABG | FDF AFD :|
|: EGB efg | fed edA | DFA dAG | FFF AFD |
EGB efg | fed edc | ded ABG | FDF AFD :|
|: ggg eBe | ggg bge | ggg eag | fdf afd |
ggg eBe | ggg bge | ded ABG | FDF AFD :|
|: EGB eBG | BGE AFD | EGB eBG | FFF AFD |
EGB GBd | Beg egb | ged ABG | FDF AFD :|

This jig is the second jig in a set of three on Iona’s "The River Flows - Anthology, Volume 1, disk 4 entitled ‘Dunes’". The third is to follow tomorrow. I transcribed these three tunes yesterday using the iPod Touch version of the Amazing Slow Downer and a slightly worse for the wear Feadog whistle.

# Posted on March 7th 2010 by jasonlburnfield

Patsy Touhey’s piping version of the tune, which was recorded in the very early part of the last century, includes the fourth part.

See: http://archives.irishfest.com/dunn-family-collection/Music/Cylinders1.htm

X:1
T: Monaghan
B: The Gow Collection Of Scottish Dance Music N354
C: Niel Gow - Irish
Z: JLouis Thiry - 2014
L: 1/8
M:6/8
K:G
G2E EFE | GEG BGE | G2E EFG | FDF AGF | G2E EFE |
GEG AB^c | d^cB ABG | FDF AGF :: EGB efg | fe^d eBG |
EGB eBG | FDF AGF | EGB efg | fe^d e=d^c | d^cB ABG | FDF AGF::
g2 e efe | geg bge | g2e efg | fdf afd | g2e efe | geg bge |
d^cB ABG | FDF AGF :: EGB EGB | eBG eBG | EGB EGB |
eBG AFD | EGB GBe | Beg egb | ge^c dBG | FDF AGF. ::

The cool and chromatic D part of Niel Gow’version offers a good ending for jig set.

This tune appears in P.W. Joyce’s Old Irish Music and Songs (1909), p. 349-350, no. 698, as Cock up your Chin Billy.
According to the Fiddler’s Companion, it is also known as Clay Pipe and The Monaghan.

As Jeremy said in his initial post, a sinister tune, and one which I often think wouldn’t be out of place in a horror movie. This setting appears as "Clay Pipe" in the Traditional Tune Archive, and adds even more macabre with some d#s and c#s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n08xKm45MM

play video

I played in a band that would play this tune sometimes using this setting. It kinda stuck with me so I thought I would add it to the mix!

Why the difference? A regional thing maybe?

I made a piano and low whistle arrangement for this tune which I think turned out quite nicely. https://youtu.be/NPquUNaUcL0

play video

Here’s a version played by Andy McGann and Paul Brady:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkGZsUtMVQk

play video